Rwanda Safari Holidays…

Standing yards from a silverback is the experience of a lifetime.

A visit to Rwanda is a truly encouraging experience. You quickly see why it was called “the land of a thousand hills” as the excellent road network winds its way through magnificent mountain scenery. This is one of the most densely populated lands in Africa and every square foot of mountain and valley is carefully used for agriculture creating a vast patchwork of terraced fields.

Seeing that the future of the country has to lie in technology, hundreds of miles of fibre optic cable is being laid linking every major village and town to the internet. Thousands of people are being trained in administration and management to the plan that Rwanda will become the administrative and business centre for East Africa. The Government has worked tirelessly to unify the country following the genocide of the mid 1990s, and people’s positive forward looking attitude shows that this is working.

Rwanda is the perfect location for a gorilla safari. The Parc National des Volcans is just a three hour comfortable ride through magnificent scenery, and Sabinyo Silverback Lodge is a luxurious well run base for tracking the rare mountain gorillas. Groups of six people track six different gorilla families each day and you are assigned to track a particular family based on your level of fitness and how far that family is from the starting point. In this way athletic people can enjoy the challenge of gorilla safari trekking four hours through the rain forest, while those seeking a less arduous experience might walk less than an hour. You are almost guaranteed to find the mountain gorillas and can enjoy an encounter you’ll never forget, spending a full hour watching a huge silverback, females and baby gorillas.

Don’t forget to spend a morning with the golden monkeys! These hilarious creatures rush about in the bamboo forests almost in touching distance, and you can see them chewing bamboo shoots, squabbling and playing. These are the world’s only colony of golden monkeys, and they inhabit the same forested terrain of the mountain gorillas.

For a few days’ relaxation, try the Lake Kivu Serena Hotel which is just two hours from the gorillas overlooking the beautiful Lake Kivu, where you can enjoy watersports, sunshine and scenery in this unusual quiet beach location. While Rwanda is not a mainstream safari location, you can enjoy an exciting tented safari in the Akagera National Park – a region of lakes, mountains and forests. A safari in Akagera is perfect if you want a real sense of pioneering in an area seen by few others.

Rwanda Highlights

Gorilla Trekking

The misty rainforest clad volcanoes of northern Rwanda are home to familes of endangered mountain gorillas. We will take you through breathtaking scenery to the volcanic foothills to prepare for your ascent.

Chimp Trekking in Nyungwe Rainforest

Gorillas aren’t the only apes living in Rwanda, there’s also a healthy population of chimpanzees too. In the Nyungwe Rainforest National Park you’ll be able to trek through the rainforest in search of troops of chimps that swing from branch to branch and groom each other in the most fascinating and intriguing way.

Rwanda's Interesting History

Whilst you’re in Rwanda you might want to visit the Genocide Memorial Centre in the country’s capital Kigali. Back in the 1990s a huge genocide took place in Rwanda; an estimated 800,000 people were killed in a period of four months.

Relaxing at Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu, Africa’s sixth largest lake, sits on the eastern border of Rwanda. The quiet waters are surrounded by towering green hills which are covered in lush vegetation and meet cosy beaches at the bottom of their slopes.

Regions of Rwanda

Parc National des Volcans

This is mountain gorilla country and one of the few places left on earth to see these magnificent and highly endangered species. Straddling the borders of the DRC and Uganda, dense rainforests cover the sides of volcanoes in the great volcanic massif of the Virunga Mountains, not only creating spectacular natural scenery, but also the ideal habitat for the rare mountain gorilla.

Hailed as the definitive location to track the captivating mountain gorilla, Parc National des Volcans (Volcanoes National Park) is home to around half of the world's mountain gorilla population – some 400 of them – as well as troops of rare golden monkeys.

While the park’s greatest offering is a once-in-lifetime chance to experience an encounter with mountain gorillas and a gorilla-tracking safari is definitely a must-do, the park has a variety of other interesting wildlife and activities to enjoy.

Trek to the awe-inspiring crater-lake on Mount Bisoke, or head into the Virungas for fantastic climbing and hiking trails. Track the rare golden monkeys on the lower slopes of the mountains, or learn more about the local culture and way of life with a visit to one of the cultural centres within the park.

Parc National des Volcans

This is mountain gorilla country and one of the few places left on earth to see these magnificent and highly endangered species. Straddling the borders of the DRC and Uganda, dense rainforests cover the sides of volcanoes in the great volcanic massif of the Virunga Mountains, not only creating spectacular natural scenery, but also the ideal habitat for the rare mountain gorilla.

Hailed as the definitive location to track the captivating mountain gorilla, Parc National des Volcans (Volcanoes National Park) is home to around half of the world's mountain gorilla population – some 400 of them – as well as troops of rare golden monkeys.

While the park’s greatest offering is a once-in-lifetime chance to experience an encounter with mountain gorillas and a gorilla-tracking safari is definitely a must-do, the park has a variety of other interesting wildlife and activities to enjoy.

Trek to the awe-inspiring crater-lake on Mount Bisoke, or head into the Virungas for fantastic climbing and hiking trails. Track the rare golden monkeys on the lower slopes of the mountains, or learn more about the local culture and way of life with a visit to one of the cultural centres within the park.

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Why should you book with us?

One of the leading Africa travel specialists for over 25 years, our team has hundreds of years of combined travel experience.

Our specialists have a personal understanding of the destinations they are recommending for you.

You will have your travel planner and a dedicated co-ordinator ensure that you receive the best service from the moment you first contact us until you return from your holiday.

Our detailed planning and preparation will ensure that your holiday runs like clockwork.

Experience impeccable service throughout your holiday with the support of our dedicated and experienced partners on the ground.

We have a 24 hour emergency phone contact, should you need to speak with us while you are away.

Luxury safari pricing guide

We aim to provide you with your ideal holiday, individually designed just for you and expertly organised. When you book with us you receive this perfectly designed holiday, travel advice and preparation, flawless organisation of the trip, ATOL financial protection and our 25 years’ experience. Because we have excellent confidential rates with lodges and airlines, the price of your holiday will be generally the same as you would pay were you to somehow book all the lodges, transfers and flights yourself.

There is a world of difference between one of our tailormade safaris and most package holidays printed in a brochure. Package holidays are usually designed to be as cheap as possible and of course involve large numbers of people doing the same thing. Our safaris use small, more exclusive and remote camps usually with guests flying in, and often virtually everything is included in the price. The experience is completely different.

Many of these small lodges and camps have broadly similar prices, and it is possible to arrange a superb safari holiday for between £6,000 to £10,000 per person ($8,000 – $13,000) season dependant, all inclusive. Realistically it is difficult to reduce that figure, and by including Botswana in peak season, chartering a private plane, disappearing to some magical desert island, or flying at the front of the plane it’s easy to substantially increase that figure!